City may call annexation election

The city plans to call its first annexation election next year as part of an effort to bring into the city limits an area near Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland and Loop 1604.

Separately, the City Council voted this morning to annex four other, smaller enclaves and corridors across Bexar County.

Those areas are: along Babcock Road; near Vance Jackson Road and Loop 1604; an area near Foster Road on the Northeast Side; and one near Interstate 10 East and Loop 1604.

They will officially become part of San Antonio on Nov. 27.

The city first proposed annexing these corridors in June. At that time, the city was considering annexation of nine areas, including the one around Lackland.

The city proposed paring down that list at an Aug. 2 meeting. At that time, the Lackland/1604 option was still on the city’s list of areas to annex, though officials said it would mean a revenue loss for San Antonio over 20 years.

The city cited that revenue loss Thursday.

But the city also believes it can better protect the military missions at Lackland and have more land-use controls over the base if it pursues an alternative course, benefiting from a law passed during the recently-concluded Texas special legislative session.

That law requires large cities like San Antonio to put annexations to a vote. However, the law also allows the city to apply certain land-use controls within five miles of a military base like Lackland.

The City Council would still have to vote to call that election, which it hopes to hold in May.